Oilers vs. Islanders: The Puffy Shirt

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KRAMER: You’re not going to believe what’s happening with Leslie. You know, ever since you agreed to wear the puffy shirt on The Today Show, she’s been getting all these orders from boutiques and department stores.

JERRY: Since I said what?

The New York Islanders had their own version of the puffy shirt. Remember the Captain Highliner jerseys? And the Islanders weren’t tricked into wearing them by some “low talker.” The Islanders’ decision makers actually thought they looked great!

The jerseys were introduced in 1995 and lasted only two seasons. Fish sticks! The Islanders’ record during those two seasons? A sparkling 51-91-22, proving the old adage: “Look bad, feel bad, play bad.”

The Islanders looked better on Sunday night but still played badly, losing 5-2 to Calgary. They are currently sitting in the Eastern Conference’s second wild card position, so they desperately need wins.

The Oilers, on the other hand, are coming off a 4-3 victory over Detroit. They are second in the Pacific Division, and their probability of making the playoffs, according to Sports Club Stats, is 98.5%. But let’s not tempt the Hockey Gords by getting all puffed up about our Oilers.

THE OILERS AFTER 65 GAMES

One thing that Lowetide has been doing on his blog is comparing the this season’s record and goal differential with last season’s, and he has graciously given me permission to use his numbers. You can see the year-to-year comparison below.

A net gain of 55 goals is a big deal. Before the season began we said we’d be happy if the Oilers finally made the playoffs. Now we’re hoping for home ice advantage. #HereComeTheOilers

What a time to be alive!

TWEET OF THE DAY

Today’s tweet of the day comes courtesy of Mr. Jason Gregor:

~~ Why would they. The rule is great. 7 minute reviews are awesome and eliminating goals due to skate in air is great for the NHL. ~~ https://t.co/P5kL3JB9sx

— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) March 7, 2017

Here’s the tweet Gregor was commenting on:

Colin Campbell says the GMs decided today not to tweak the offside rule on Coach's Challenge video review (skate in the air). Status quo

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 7, 2017

TONIGHT’S LINEUPS

The Oilers’ lineup is expected to look like this:

Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Leon Draisaitl
Milan Lucic – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
Drake Caggiula – David Desharnais – Zack Kassian
Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Jujhar Khaira

Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson
Andrej Sekera – Kris Russell
Darnell Nurse – Eric Gryba

Cam Talbot

Benoit Pouliot is expected to be back in the lineup soon:

Pouliot cleared for contact, won't play tonight but "getting quite close to returning" to #Oilers lineup, says Coach McLellan.

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 7, 2017

The Islanders’ lineup should look something like this:

Anders Lee – John Tavares – Josh Bailey
Andrew Ladd – Brock Nelson – Josh Ho-Sang
Jason Chimera – Ryan Strome – Shane Prince
Anthony Beauvillier – Nikolai Kulemin – Cal Clutterbuck

Nick Leddy – Scott Mayfield
Thomas Hickey – Travis Hamonic
Calvin de Haan – Dennis Seidenberg

Thomas Greiss

FEWER THAN 30 THOUGHTS

1. What more can be said about McDavid? He’s so good that we aren’t surprised when he does something like this:

2. Our own Bret Litke wrote a great piece about Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson: “Good Friends, Better Defencemen.” Klefbom and Larsson are both young, on team-friendly contracts, and are already a very good top pairing.

3. People forget how young Larsson is. Would you be surprised if I told you that he’s younger than Brandon Davidson?

4. Klefbom has scored 11 goals this season, which means he’s tied for fourth in goals by defenceman. Fourth! The entire Oilers’ D corps scored a total of only 24 goals last season.

5. Patrick Maroon now has 21 goals. Signing him to his next contract could be a bit tricky because his numbers have been somewhat inflated by playing on McDavid’s wing.

6. Does Anton Lander get one last shot with the Oilers? He’s been absolutely dominant since being sent down to the AHL. In 25 games with the Condors, Lander has 21 goals and 21 assists. He hasn’t been able to score in the NHL, but there’s one thing that Lander could bring to the Oilers in the playoffs: the ability to win a key faceoff.

7. David Musil was loaned to the Coyotes’ AHL team yesterday. Another left-shooting defenceman let go. Add to this the recent signing of right-shooting defenceman Ryan Mantha, and Peter Chiarelli is slowly but surely bringing balance to the Oilers’ defence.

8. Enjoy the game!]]>